Interview With SSG CuVee: ‘After Longzhu, Now We Can Have Easier Victories Against Foreign Teams.’

In the LCK regional finals against KT Rolster, no one believed the underdogs were capable of demolishing the ‘super team’ in three straight games to book their tickets to the 2017 World Championship as the LCK’s third seed.

Likewise, against the #1 Korean seed in the quarterfinals, tournament favourites Longzhu Gaming were defeated by Samsung Galaxy in three games. The epic Longzhu versus SK Telecom T1 LCK Summer Finals rematch we were looking forward to in the final is no longer a reality.

ClickOn eSports spoke to Samsung’s top laner Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin after their elated victory to shed light on the team’s strategy coming into playoffs, pro-gamer life, and his top Korean food picks.

TM: In the top lane, you can play tanks, you can play carries. Is there anything you can’t do?

(smiles)“I continue to practice any kind of champion that is required for the team.”

TM: So how would you describe your playstyle?

“In my opinion, I’m really great at aggressive plays.”

TM: It’s a tank meta in top lane right now. How do you feel playing tanks most of the time? Do you ever get bored?

“Frankly, if I continue to adopt tank champions, I just want to stop playing tanks. However, no matter what, if that is what’s required for the victory, I’ll just go for it.”

(Photo credit: Riot Games Flickr)

TM: Today Samsung Galaxy faced another Korean team. Do you think that’s an advantage or a disadvantage?

“In my opinion, and in the perspective of our team, I think it’s an advantage because now we have less pressure; we can have easier victories against other foreign teams, in relative terms.”

TM: Samsung drafted single-target team composition that allowed Tristana to shine. Why do you think worked against Longzhu?

“Because Longzhu players always go for team fights, we thought that if we have enough crowd control, we can kill them and maybe win the team fight. That worked.”

TM: Player cameras showed SSG exhibiting a lot of emotion today. What was going on?

“If we win a game, it makes us happy. It’s very natural so we can’t really hide our expression!”

TM: Samsung Galaxy is known to have a very high level of teamwork. How do you train to build teamwork?

“I think yes, it is very important that we have the exact same roster last year, so we know each other very well. We know our strengths, weaknesses and what we need. That gives us strong teamwork.”

(Photo credit: Riot Games Flickr)

TM: You said before that you wanted to live an ordinary life. You’ve been a pro-gamer for 3 years now. How has public life changed you?

“There’s nothing much that changed in my life. But because I’ve been playing on bigger stages, on international stages, now I don’t think I want to have an ordinary life. I want to have a very comfortable life.”

TM: What are some of the things that give you comfort?

“You know, as a pro-player, I can make a lot of money, and money is a necessity of life so that’s the most important thing to me.” (laughs)

TM: You are known to eat everything. Who is the pickiest eater on Samsung?

“I think Ambition is the pickiest guy on our squad because he’s usually very sensitive when he plays a game, and he also doesn’t eat a lot of things.” (laughs)

TM: Maybe that’s why he’s so slim.

“Yes, same opinion.”

TM: You have many fans outside of Korea. What’s the best Korean food you could recommend?